Despite dropping their first match of the season last Friday in Seattle, one big positive for Houston Dynamo was the 2012 debut of Luiz Camargo.
The Brazilian playmaker entered the fray in the 67th minute for Je-Vaughn Watson and helped the Dynamo push for a goal in the final stages of the game with his ability to hold up the ball and distribute from the center of the pitch.
“I thought he looked good,” Dynamo head man Dominic Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “He’s so comfortable on the ball and, at that time in the game, we were going to a little more attacking formation and we had more possession, and he was a big part of that.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Seattle 2, Houston 0
Camargo’s positive play is a welcome sight for the Dynamo as the 24-year-old is expected to play a big role in Houston’s plans for the attack going forward this season.
As for Camargo himself, he was happy to start integrating himself into game situations – a welcomed change from the reserve and preseason action he has seen so far.
“It’s a lot better and it’s faster and the stakes are higher,” Camargo told MLSsoccer.com on Monday through a translator. “I felt fine and prepared, but sorry I couldn’t do much more to help the team win.”
The Brazilian says he is at 80-percent fitness and that the three weeks until Houston’s next match against the Chicago Fire on April 15 will be about getting sharp as much mentally as it is physically.
“Those 23 minutes against Seattle were important for him because you want to get him on the field and see how he plays,” Kinnear said. “It’s an important two weeks here. … He’s a good player and it’s important to the team to have him 90-minutes fit. That’s the absolute goal for him and us come the 15th.”
Hainault sits out second half
The opening seconds of the Seattle loss found Andre Hainault on the wrong end of a collision, taking a Brad Evans shoulder to the side of his head.
The right back was immediately checked out by Houston’s medical staff and remained in the match until halftime, when he was lifted for Jermaine Taylor to err on the side of caution.
“You can’t take any chances when it comes to stuff above the shoulders,” Kinnear said. “If you asked him – and I did – he wanted to play, but we decided it was better to take him out.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com and can be reached for comment at Darrell.A.Lovell@gmail.com.
